Fish-cutting machine, endless-chain conveyer.



F.D.GLEVELAND. FISH CUTTING MACHINE, ENDLESS CHAIN CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 23, 1913.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.-

2 sums-sunk.

| I l I I I I l l l I l I l I l i I 1 I 1|||||||||l 11 In lxllxlllllllll 4 F. D. CLEVELAND.

FISH CUTTING MACHINE, ENDLESS CHAIN CONVEYER. APPLICATION FILED APR.23, 1913.

1,125,654. Q Patented Jan. 19 1915.

J6 J6 w 60 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. LAND, a citizen of the United rneivcxs n.

unnzemvoon GQKEPASY, cnnsn'r'rs.

aren -onetime Macrame,

lvllahS fifll-i'JS'fiTls, ASSIGNDR TO WILLEAE 9E P80315033, BIAS SflfiHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- To all whom it may concern: 1

Beit known that I, Fnanors 1).. CLEVE- States, residing atlVinchester, in the county of l /fiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented-new and useful Improvements in Fish-Cutting Machines, Endless-Chain Con ve'yer,'of Which the following is a specifica- .following specification 50" provided with tion.

' This invention relates to inechanism for cutting ofi the heads and tails of fish, the machine of the invention adapted to 'cut oflthe known as sardines, 'preparatory to canning the same.

The object of the invention is toprovide a machine of the character set forth in which an endless chain conveyor is iutilized in combination with suitable gages and streams of water directed into pockets on said conveyer to locate the fish with theiiheads against said gases in position for the heads and tails .of the fish to be'severed, the heads and tails "being separated from the body portion. of the fish and conducted to separate recepta'cles therefor.

. The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the pointed out in the claiinthereof.

' Referring to the drawings: Fig'urel is a longitudinal sectional; elevation of a machine embodying my invention-the same being brokenaway-to save space in thecdrawings. Fig; 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevationtaken'on line3-3 of Fig. 1. v

Like numerals refer to like parts through out-the several views of the drawings.

In he drawings, 5 is the frame of the machine. Sprocket wheels 6 and 7 are to'shafts 8 and 9, respectively, which are 'journaled in suitable bearings 10 and 11 on the frame of the machine. An endless chain conveyor 12 engages the sprockets 6 and? and is movable in the direction of the arrow The chain conveyer 12 consists 'of a pluot 531d links being GETS 15, thus making an'e'ndless chain. 1 ach of Specifications-f Letters 3?- r being particularly heads and tails of fish and particularly fastened frame of the machine of'a suitable pulley 44. It will be seen that 14: and said ears being i pivotally connected together by pivot 1 bolts the links 13 is provided with a pocket 16 which extends transversely of the chain conveyer 12 and of the direction of motion oi said conveyor.

The bottoms of the convex, being inclined, as at 17, and the other side 18 of the bottom-oi the pocket being inclined in the opposite direction, the point 19 midway between; the ends of said pockets being preterahly the highest point, or the point farthest removed from a common plane containing the median axial lines of the sprocket wheels 6 and 7.

Gages 20 and 21 are provided at opposite ends of the pockets 16. These gages are fastened by means of flanges and 23 and suitable bolts to the opposite sides of the frame 5. Said gages are provided with vertical flanges 24.- and '25, respectively, which project into slots 26 and 27 provided at'pppockets 16 are made posite ends ofthe partitions 28 and 2 9 forming the sides of the pockets 18. These are stationarv and constitute not only gases to position the fish in said pockets but also perform the function of guides to support and position the upper side of the chain conveyer 12 as the same is moving in the direction of the-arrow a (Fig. 1).

i A. semi-circular shield 30 extends part way around and beneath the sprocnet wheel 7 (seeFig. 1) and is fastened by holts'iil to the gages EZOand 21. 'Theshield .30 has a convex inner face 32 while the outer edges 33 of the partitions'Q-S and 29 are made concave, as seen in Fig. 2, to conform to the con" vex inner face" of the shield 30. The partitions-QSand 29 are provided with slots .34, 35, 36 and 37 into which project rotary disk shaft 412 in the and rotated by means cutters are adjustablv'fastened to a journaled in suitable bearings 43 each pair of cutters 38 and 39, so and 41 PTG': iect into suitable slots 45 provided in the shield 80 at its lower end.

The fish are delivered to the machine by means of a chute 46 andwater is supplied to said chute through a pipe 47. 1 The fish pass down the chute 16 and enter the pockets 48 in the periphery of a rotary feed wheeixlQ.

v. is, 11ers:

one sidefof the bottom of said pocket cutters 38, 89. 4-0 and 4C1. These rotary disk Said feed wheel is fastened to a shaft which ihotatably mounted in suitable bearings 51 supported on the frame of the machine and water is delivered into-thepockets 48 through a'pi' rotated in the 'rection of the arrow 6 by means of a pulley 53 fast to the shaft 50.

A. shield 54 located beneath the feed wheel extends art way therearound and is con- Ttcd at tlie outlet end thereof by a chute to the periphery of the chain com'eyer 12, so that, as hereinafter more full described fish can he fed by said feed w eel to said conveyor".

The chain conveyer is moved in the d1rection of the arrow 41 by the sprocket wheel 7 which, in turn, is rotated by the shaft 9 to which it is fastened, the shaft 9 having a rotary motion imparted thereto by a pulley 7.1 fast thereto.

Water is deli vcred into the pockets of the chain conveyor, for the purpose of moving the fish in said pockets toward opposite ends thereof until their Heads rest against the gages 20 and 21, by pipes 56, 57, 5E} and 59, said pi es being provided, respectively, with nozz 60, 61, 62 and 63. These pipes and nozzles are adapted to direct water into the pockets 16 as said pockets are moved past them in the motion of the chain conveyer,and it will be noted that these pipes and their nozzles constitute oppositely disposed means for directing jets of fluid under pressure into said pockets at points between the centers and the extreme ends of said pockets. The pipes 58 and 59, with their nozzles 62 and (33, are located at an angle to each other and to the pockets into i which they discharge streams of water and are li'icated between the centers and the extreme ends of said pockets. ater is supplied to the pipes 56 and 57 by a pipe 4 and Water supplied to the pipes 58 and 59 by a pipe 5. After'thc heads and tails of the, fish have been severed from the bodies by the cutters 38 and 39 40 and 41 the bodies. of said fish pass down :1 chute 66 into a rcceptaclcfii', while the heads and tails pass down a chute 38 into a. receptacle 69. l The general operation of the mechanism hereinbcfore described "is as follows: The fish pass down the chute 16 into the pockets 48 on the rotary carrier 4.), water being supplied through. the pipe d7 to the chute 46 and Floating said. fish downwardly therein into said p-r. as the fish. pass from 4 rats. the chute 46 into the rotary carrier 49 they are guided by the partitions between said pocl-fc 18 to assume a position at right angles to iich thcv assume in the chute fill--- dinally a 3 itla parallel with the shaft 563 of the rotar" wheelail. As the wheel is rotated in the 52. The feed wheel 49 is direction of the arrow 2) the pockets containing'the fish pass behind the shield 54 and the fish in said pockets, as the wheel continues to rotate, slide down the partitions 70 and rest on the shield 54:v from which they are pushed by the dill'crent partitions 70 along said shield until they come to the chute down which they slide into the pockets 16 on the endless chain conveyor 12.

This com'eyer ismoved the arrow a and the COIIIQX formation of the pockets 16 causes the lie-h to slide either ftoward the gage 20 or the gage 21, accord- ,ing to the direction in which the heads of the fish may be pointed when they are delivered to said pockets. Those fish which have their heads toward the gage 20 will he assisted by the incline of water from the pipes 56 and 57 and their nozzles 60 and 61 to more in the direction in which their heads are'pointed until said heads arein contact with the gage 20, while those fish whose heads are pointed toward the gage 21 when they are delivered to the pockets 16 will be moved by said streams of water and by the inclined surface 17 of the bottoms of the pockets into which they are delivered to move toward the gage 21 until their heads rest against said gage. As the conveyor chain ,12 moves in the direction of the arrow a the pockets will, one by one, pass behind theshield 30 and as the chain continuesto move in the direction indicated and the sprocket wheel 7 to rotate in the direction of the the fish in the pockets in the direction of arrow c (Fig. 1),

l8 and the streams and against the convex shield and this convex formation of the inner face of the shield Wlll still further assist the fish to be moved outwardly or with their heads against the gages 20and 21, according to the direction in which the fish are pointed. Having now arrived beneat the sprocket wheel 7 the fish are forced along the shield 30 by the different partitions of the pockets in which they are located until they are brought into contact with the cutters 38 and 39 or the cutters .40 and 41, respectivelythat is fish which are located at one side of the convex shield or on the inclined portion .at the ri ht of the center as viewed in Fig. 2 wil have their heads and tails severed by the cutters a0 and 41. while those fish which av located on the other side of said shield or at the left of Fig. 2 will have their heads and tails severed by the cutters 38 and 39. The heads drop onto the chute 68 thereby to the will dro. conveys It will inner face of said and tails as they are severed will insane-i oe understood that fish which are o livered into pockets with convex bottoms, s hereinioeiore deserihed having their h is pointed in one direction wil natiliy tie in the direotion in which the pointed, as the head end of the is the heavier aid Will-thus be aided by nvex bottoms of the pocketsas Well as the streams, to be moved in the direc- 2 ties. in which their heads are pointed against gages 20 and 21, respectively.

liming thus described my invention what I I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

A series of individual carriers for artieles movable in agiven direction, each of said carriers having two side partitions forming pocket extending transversely thereof and of the direction of movement of said carriers, pivots connecting said carriers together, a semi-cylindrical shield arranged with its inner face in close proximity to the outer edges of said partitions and stationary gages with vertical flanges projecting into slots provided at opposite ends of said partitions.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

D. CLEVELAND.

Witnesses:

SYoNEY E. TAFT, ANNIE J. BAILEY. 

